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Simple to Spectacular
How to Take One Basic Recipe to Four Levels of Sophistication
by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman
Broadway Books
New York, NY
$45.00/hardcover
432 pages
Simple To Spectacular: How to Take One Basic Recipe to Four Levels of Sophistication offers a fascinating and accessible approach to every category of food from soups to pasta, fish to meats, vegetables to desserts.
Throughout 432 pages of insightful, instructive recipes, Vongerichten and Bittman lay a foundation with a simple dish like gazpacho, sticky rice, roast chicken or sorbet, then add layers of complexity that demonstrate how a chef’s creativity can transform the everyday into the extraordinary. For example, a Frisée salad with simple vinaigrette gets added piquancy in the form of Roquefort and walnuts, which in turn gives way to Frisée salad Lyonnaise-style, then Frisée salad with lentils and finally, Frisée salad with scallops, white truffles and Parmesan. Similarly, classic vanilla ice cream is transformed into glazed chestnut ice cream and caramel ice cream with crunch sesame with no change in basic technique.
As Bittman writes in the introduction to Simple To Spectacular, “It has long seemed appealing to begin with a basic recipe and prepare progressively more sophisticated variations. Using this ‘system’ a book could serve all levels of people interested in cooking, especially newcomers but even those with experience—assuming, of course, that the variations were truly spectacular. With Jean-Georges as a partner, this was guaranteed.”
The book is divided into 10 sections beginning with soups and ending with desserts and includes a total of 250 recipes. At one end of the spectrum are simple dishes or building blocks like scrambled eggs, puff pastry and chicken breasts in foil. Even these fundamentals provide invaluable insight into cooking technique, as well as Vongerichten’s particular methods for mastering a dish.
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